Apparatus for perforating sheet material



2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed 06t- 26, 1945 Jan. 24, 1950 J. w. MEAKER APPARATUS FOR PERFORATNG SHEET MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i s N \\l\. mmm-ummm Sa Filed 0G11. 26, 1945 Jo/m BY Patented Jan. 24L 1950 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR PERFoRA'rING SHEET MATERIAL John W. Meaker, New York, N. Y. Application October l,26, 1945, Serial No. 624,809

5 Claims. 1

This invention relates -to mechanism for the electro-perforation of sheet material. It is an object of the invention to produce a device of thisdcharacter which' will perforate rapidly moving sheet material over an extensive area.

The principles of the invention will be dened in the claims ultimatelyv appended hereto. It will be illustrated by the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an end view of rows of electrodes. Fig. 2 is a side view of the device partly in section.

Fig. 3 is a detailed View of an electrode support shown partly in section.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of part of a lower electrode bar with the electrodes shown thereon.

Looking at the drawings l designates a piece of sheet material such as paper or the like and 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b show feed rolls designed to move the sheet material through the machine. At 5 is a support or platform preferably made of glass or some insulating wear resistantv plastic. In the supporting platform 5 are slots 6, 1, 8 and 3, through the platform and disposed at right angles to the path of travel of the sheet material. In

these slots are arranged the lower electrode supporting bars I0, II, I2 and I3. These bars are arranged so that the tops thereof are in the slots 6', lI, 8 and 3 respectively. The tops of these bars are curved as shown in Fig.` 2 andeach bar is designed to support thereon a number of spring clip type electrodes such as those shown at I5, I6, I'I and IB of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 shows anyone of the rows of electrodes but we will call it the first row at the right end as viewed in Fig. 2 so that the lower bar is bar I and the upper bar 20. The various spring clip electrodes on bar I0 are designated Ia, |517, I5c, I5d and 15e (see Fig. 1). Fig.` 4 illustrates the supporting bar I0 and the electrodes Ia, I5b, I5c and I5d. These spring clip electrodes are made out of spring wire bent into the shape shown in the figures so that they will embrace the top and sides of the various vsupporting bars I0, II, I2 and I3. There is sufficient friction between the bars and the spring electrodes so that the latter' will not' move accidentally yet can be positioned merely by' sliding them along the bar. It is obvious that they are readily removed and replaced when this becomes necessary.

The upper swingable electrodes are mounted on supporting bars 20, 2l, 22 and 23. These bars are made of insulating material such as Mycalex, Ebonite or other plastic. Each bar Ell.

of which is shown on bar 20 at 25; Similar lugs or ears on bars 2|, 22 and 23 are shown at 26, 21 and 28, respectively. These lugs are designed to be attached by a suitable screw or bolt shown at 30, 3|, 32 and 33 to supporting members 35, 36, 31 and 38 attached to the framework of the machine. This kind of support permits the bars to be rotated about the screws or bolts 30, 3|, 32 and 33 for adjustment if that becomes necessary.

On the opposite side of each bar are electrode supporting lugs. Some of these are showny at 40, 4I, 42 and 43 in Fig. 2. These lugs may be integral with the bars 20, 2 I, 22 and 23 or attached thereto' by suitable screws shown at 45 and 46 on bar 22. The screws for holding all the other lugs on the Various bars 20, 2l, 22 and 23 are the same and will not be given additional refer-g ence characters. In Fig. 1 the lugs on bar 20 have'been designated 4|), 40a, 40h and 40o. Each lug supports two pivoted electrodes such as those shown at 50a, 5Ia, 52a and 53a. Electrodes on bar 20 are designated at 50a, 50h, 50c, 50d, 50e, 5I!) and 50g, as shown in Fig. 1'. Each electrode is made of suitable conducting material, preferably metal, which will readily conduct electricity and at the same time resist wear as the sheet material passes under the end thereof. Electrodes must have sufficient weight'or be equipped with a spring so that they will stay down to contact with the sheet material'even when the latter is travelling at relatively high speed. l. Through each of the lugs such as those shown at 40, 4I, 42 and 43 are supporting pins. Each lug has the same kind of a pin and only one will be described. Looking at Fig. 3, the pin is shown at 50, it passes through the lug 42 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bar 22. The pin 50- projects on both sides beyond the lug 42 and on the projecting ends thereof the movable elec-V trodes are hung. In order to attach the electrodes, circular grooves, such as those shown at 5I and 5I', are cut near the ends of the pin= The electrodes are secured on the pin 50 by means of screws such as those shown in Flg.- 3 at and 56. These screws are threaded into tapped holes in the electrodes and have projecting ends or dogs which engage in the grooves 5I and 5I so that the electrodes 52a and 52h are free to pivot around the pin 5I)v but may not move axially thereof.

Each pair of upper and lower supporting bars is equipped with two `or more lugs or ears, one 55 such as bars Ill and 20 are `positioned relativeto each other so that the lower ends of the upper electrodes on the upper bar are arranged when in lowermost position just above the center of the top edge of the lower bar. For instance, looking at Fig. 2 we see that the lowermost portion of the electrode 50a is positioned just above the top edge of the bar l0. Supporting bars l l and 2| and l2 and 22 and I3 and 23 are arranged in the same relative position to each other.-

The spring clip electrodes disposed on the lower supporting bars are arranged so that one arm thereof is underneath one of the upper electrodes while the other arm of the sameclip-isk under the adjacent upper electrode of another pair. This is clearly shown in Fig. 1 For example, looking at spring clip |5bwe see that arm 60 is underneath upperelectrode 59h where-4 as arm 6| is underneath upper electrode 50c. The

upper edges of the spring clip electrodes where the wire is bent over the upper edge of the supporting bars therefor are arranged so that they are on substantially the same level as the upper surface of the platform 5 so that the bottom of the sheet material passing along the platform 5 will just make contactv with the wire clip lower electrodes. The weight of the upper electrodes pressing downwardly on the sheet material-'will press the sheet material between upper and lower electrodes as it moves along over the platform 5.

Each spring clip lower electrode bridges over the space between a pair of adjacent upper electrodes. The adjacent electrodes are not however'mounted on the same pin. Current-forper forating the sheet material may be supplied to either the upper or lower electrodes and at 63 and Sli` are shown connections for applying currentto the lower electrodes. Each row of electrodesis supplied with current as shown in Fig. 1. The current coming in through wire 64, for instance, passes up throughthe spring clip I5a through the sheet material i to electrode 50a,.it would then pa-ss through the support pin for this-electrode such as pin 50 and down through the adjacent electrode 50h to spring clip' electrode l5b. In this way the current would pass up and down through the sheet material and along the rowsv of electrodes; Each time that it passed from an up-V per4v to a lower electrode and through the sheet material it would perforate the latter.

The various rows of electrodes asrshownl in Fig. 2 may be staggered in relation to eachother so that the net result of a series-of rows'is'to perforate an area of the sheet material as` it passes through the machine.

At 10, 1l, 'l2 and 'I3 of Fig. 2 are'shownpins for limiting the downward movement of the electrodes 50a, Bla, 52a, and 53a. Each ofthe upper'electrodes is equipped with such a pin so that its downward motion can be so limited;

The present invention is not limited to any par'- ticular electric circuit or electric means for supplying the necessary sparks to perforate the sheet material but an apparatus such as that described in Meaker Patent #2,372,508 maybe used to supply the current to the electrodes described in this application.

In theA light of the foregoing description-the following is` claimed.

1. In a device of the character described anA upper and lower row of electrodes, supporting means therefor, said lower electrodes` compris'- ing a series of wireclipsdisposed over the edge;

cient spring tension and friction to maintain its position thereon, said upper electrodes corisisting of pivoted arms mounted in pairs, the arms of each pair being electrically connected and each arm designed to cooperate with one arm of a pair of different spring clip electrodes on the lower bar to perform the perforating operation on the sheet material passing between the electrodes,

2.V In a device of the character described, rows of upper and lower electrodes, rigid supporting bars. for said electrodes, said lower electrodes comprising bentl wire shaped in the form of a double U and designed to engage the edge of the support on which it is positioned by means of spring tension suiiicient to prevent accidental displacement yet` designed to permit the electrode to be slid along the supporting means to any'desired position, and swingable upper electrodes adapted to cooperate with said lower electrodes to perforate sheet material passing therebetween.

3. In a device of the character described a supporting. platformA over whichV sheet material may be, passed, slots arranged insaidplatform at right angles to-,thedirecton of travelof said sheet/material, insulating'rigid supporting bars disposed beneath said slots; each bar equipped with a` pluralityofspringclipelectrodes each of which has a pair of armsdisposedover the upperr edges of said bar, supportingk bars over said platform and pivoted electrodes thereon designed to cooperate with the spring lclip electrodes to transmit electric current; from the upper tothelower electrodes for the purpose of perforating sheetmaterialpassing along the platform.

4. In a device4 for electrically perforating dielectric sheet n'iaterialhavingv two rows of co'- operatingfelectrodes facingeach other and arrangedtorecei've between them the materiaLto be perforated, the combination including a sup.- port oi insulating material, a series of spring clips-bent into the form of a double U withtwo pairs of. oppositely disposed arms, one'pair of whichare connectedetogetheriat their free ends; said uci-shaped. arms slidably grippingsaid support on opposite sidesthereof: with sufficient fric.- tion' and tension-to.maintainzsaid clip in position on said 'support'and veach of-said spring clips inf cluding-two electrode portions disposed. at one edgekof the support in opposed relation to cooperating :electrodes iny the other. row of electrodes, the electrode portions ofeachofsaid clips being connected electrically through ,other portions of their respective'V clips.

5, In a: device for: electrically perforatingsheet material.havingtwo rows of cooperating elec-- trodesfacing eachotherand arranged to receive between them the material. to be perforated, the combination including' a rigid supporting bar of Ainsulating material and a. series of double spring-clips eachformingtwin electrodes; carried byfsaidrsupporting bar, each electrode. facing an electrode inthe othergrowof electrodes'and com-- prisingl a'. U -shapedY portion frictionally embracingV thefsides4 of the supporting bar and with the bight'of the U engaging the' edge of the sup-- porting bar, the two' U-shaped portions being mechanically and electrically connected by an integralportion joining one leg ofA one U-shaped portionito, onealeg: offithe other AUffshaped portion;

JOHN'TW. MEAKER;

(References on following page) REFEENCES CITED Number The followhg rifilces are of record in the file of this patent:

1,903,069 UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,158,969 f 2 297 499 Number Name Date 354,471 Han nec. 14, 1886 21372508 6 Name Date Dorenwend Sept. 15, 1891 Smith Feb. 6, 1912 Ross Mar. 28, 1933 Oliver May 16, 1939 Baumbach Sept. 29, 1942 Meaker Mar. 27, 1945 

